City of Englewood makes initial improvements to long-criticized drinking water

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There's no shortage of opinions about Englewood's drinking water.

While the water is safe to drink, the taste, color and hardness have earned quite a reputation around the city.

"We do hear you and we appreciate the feedback," Pieter Van Ry, director of Englewood Utilities, said back in 2023 when the City of Englewood announced a series of projects specifically to solve this problem.

After receiving an email from a viewer, Denver7 is following up to see what progress has been made since then.

• Read our previous coverage below

Englewood

Englewood Utilities launches projects to improve long-criticized drinking water

Danielle Kreutter

When asked about the grade he'd give the progress so far, Van Ry told Denver7 on Monday, "I would say an improving 'B,' that's where I'd put us."

Over the past year and a half, there's been extensive work to modernize the aging water treatment plant in Englewood, including adding a new centrifuge to more efficiently remove sediment and solids from the water.

"By putting that modern system in, we'll be able to address what is one of the most significant aspects of taste and odor, which is the solids that are the residuals that come from the treatment process impacting the water quality itself," Van Ry explains.

The plant now also has an ozone treatment system.

"The algae and biological compounds that result in those taste and odor compounds, the ozone treatment process helps to mitigate those and knock those down," he said.

Some of the other projects are smaller in size but have a big impact on water quality, according to the city.

"We've put a number of valves in that help us control the system better, which helps us with flushing the system better, which helps us move the water through the system and out of the system faster," Van Ry said. "We put in tank mixers, which actually help you mix the water in the tank so that it doesn't get stale in those tanks."

According to Van Ry, the water hardness levels are around 150, down from 250 before the projects started. The goal is to eventually get below 100. That change alone is one residents might be able to notice when they drink water from their tap, according to Van Ry.

Englewood

Englewood aims to remove all lead service lines in 3 to 5 years

Danielle Kreutter

Englewood will soon launch another project that will close off the city ditch.

"We're initiating our city ditch piping project, which will enclose the remaining sections of city ditch in a way that will prevent stormwater runoff from the street and those contaminants from getting into the city ditch," Van Ry said.

Water improvement projects will continue over the next several years, as will improvements to taste and hardness, according to the city.

At the same time, work is being done to address water safety in the city. Englewood Utilities has replaced around 2,800 of its lead service lines as part of its effort to remove every lead service line in the next few years. There's an estimated total of 11,000.

For more information on the water improvement plan, click here.

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